Rebels set off bombs in Syrian army HQ

BEIRUT -- Syrian rebels struck deep in the fortresslike inner sanctum of President Bashar Assad's rule yesterday in Damascus, detonating two car bombs that engulfed the army headquarters in flames.

The suicide bombings and subsequent gun battles in the capital killed at least five people, including a reporter for Iranian TV. The carefully orchestrated attacks highlighted the regime's growing vulnerability, even as the 18-month battle to bring down Assad is locked in a stalemate.

International diplomacy has failed to stop the bloodshed.

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi, in his debut on the global stage at the UN, said he will not rest until Syria's civil war is brought to an end. He called it the "tragedy of the age" and one that "we all must end." Morsi has launched an "Islamic Quartet" of regional powers on Syria, but has not offered a specific plan of action.

The explosions targeting the Syrian military compound went off about 10 minutes apart, around 7 a.m., with the first blast possibly meant to create a diversion to enable the second attacker to enter the compound.

Security camera footage aired by Syrian state TV showed a white van driving on a busy thoroughfare outside the compound, then veering to the right and exploding. The footage showed a second blast going off inside the complex, with flames rising behind trees.

After the second explosion, rebels and regime forces exchanged fire for more than three hours, including inside the military compound, said Rami Abdul-Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The fighting spilled over into Omayyad Square, with troops, some wildly firing in the air, chasing rebel gunmen, witnesses said.

Syrian state TV reported that four army guards were killed and 14 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel.

The Iranian English language Press TV said one of its Syrian correspondents, Maya Nasser, 33, was killed by a rebel sniper. The station replayed his last report, in which he was on the phone from Damascus, when the line suddenly went silent.